Spider-Man is no stranger to movies - and, after five separate films (and two origin stories), everyone's favorite friendly neighborhood wall-crawler is headed back to theaters as a part of Captain America: Civil War.
At this point, it's safe to say that the original three Spider-Man movies are the fan-favorites. The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel were all over the place, and while Spider-Man 3 isn't exactly an award-worthy film, fans can still get behind the first silver-screen Spidey ... that being said, if things had gone according to plan, Tobey McGuire might not have been the first Spider-Man to hit theaters.
Back in the early '90s, Marvel was in talks with Carolco Pictures to bring the web-slinger to the big screen. If Carolco Pictures doesn't ring a bell, then the film's director will: James Cameron. That's right: the man behind Terminator and Aliens was set to work on one of Marvel's first theatrical projects.
Need proof? Here's a letter from Stan Lee himself (via Comic Book Resources), promising fans that a Cameron-directed Spider-Man movie would be the greatest thing in the history of comic books:
Carolco Pictures may have died out a long time ago, but back when this was published, it was on top of the world: Terminator 2 was about to set the movie world on fire, and Cameron had already cemented his legacy as a director with works like Aliens and The Abyss. For fans, it sounded like a perfect fit, but it just wasn't meant to be.
As is the case with many big-name projects, Cameron's Spider-Man movie fell into development limbo. Financial troubles, legal battles and an absolutely insane script kept the project from getting off the ground - maybe it's a good thing that it never happened, especially if it was going to include three separate villains and an origin story.
One way or another, fans are now anticipating their third silver screen Spider-Man: expect Peter Parker to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in Captain America: Civil War next summer.
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